This game looks like shit even when everything is maxed in DX9. Why would I play it in DX7?
well a 2003 engine updated with shaders, hdr, auto exposure, antialiasing, anisotropic, that runs smooth on a decent rig with 150 players...
i'd say one of the best indie graphic engines so far (because armagan and his wife programmed the 3d engine from scratch... just them.)
Electronic Arts instead fields zillions of software engineers to bring photorealism to the games, but the games they make really sucks.
EDIT:
and btw the graphics don't suck at 1680 with 4x AA and 16x AF with all maxed. and the blood mod is really a nice boost in eyecandy.